From Idaho Springs, drive 2 miles west on Interstate I-70, take exit 238 for Fall River Road. Continue straight after leaving I-70 and take the first right onto Fall River Rd. Follow Fall River Rd. for 9 miles, where you will find a large parking area for St. Mary's Glacier on the left. A few hundred feet ahead there is a smaller parking lot, just after the trailhead. Parking is $10-$20 and payed online by phone (there is cell service in this area).
Route
From the parking area, walk along Fall River Rd. to get to the trailhead for St. Mary's Glacier at 10,400'. Proceed up the wide and gradual trail for 0.5 miles to arrive at St. Mary's Lake at 10,800'
1. Continue to the right along the same side of the lake, crossing a small metal bridge. Even in late summer there will be snow fields above, which the route follows
2. Continue along the glacier (there is a trail to the right flank above the snow) through a slightly steeper section, where you will arrive at a large cairn at 11,500'
3. Here the landscape flattens significantly. Stay straight along the same path for 0.6 miles, until you arrive at a 4WD road. Turn right to go up the road, following for only a few hundred feet to a small cairn on the left where the trail continues
4.
The trail is fairly well-defined and uncomplicated to follow from here. About a half mile from this junction it starts to climb steeper again. At this point there are about 1.5 miles remaining to the summit. At about 12,000', Loch Lomond and the smaller pools above it become visible to the left and below the ridge. The summit comes into view from about a half mile away
5, after which the trail follows close to a large cliff to the right, right before the summit.
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